As expected, this enormous bill, which, of course, no-one in Congress has read in its entirety, includes significant amounts of extraneous material, aka pork, despite the successful efforts of Republicans to strip away the most egregious examples of wasteful spending(which may still be coming in Pelosi’s next package). Nonetheless, more money is allocated to PBS (hardly fair and balanced politically) and to NPR, some of the affiliates of which have threatened not to cover the president’s Corona-conferences.
Good news!
Northeastern Illinois shopping report. For the most part, except in pasta, dairy, and dry cereals, shelves were backed to fully stocked. Somes BRANDS of milk related dairy products were entirely missing. Plenty of other brands from which to choose.
Shoppers were all polite … but distant. VBG
To to help local restaurants we’re ordering out most nights and giving the delivery guys big tips.
Stay healthy everyone and no fighting!
Most people are calling it a stimulus bill, but I do think “emergency aid” or “emergency recovery” bill is more accurate.
Not a good bill but better than most bills coming from Congress.
There has been reporting on the right about the excesses of the left in the bill. I wonder what the rep put in the bill.
Having said that I don’t think Trump had any choice on signing it. The press and Dems are bad enough on a good day but if he hadn’t (or will) signed it then we would have Schiff calling for another impeachment.
Not a stimulus bill, nor an emergency relief bill, it’s just the swamp creatures making it rain on their pet projects.
Has anybody but LeeAlso noticed that President Trump and the entire Republican caucus (minus Massie and Rand Paul) have gone into deepest Deep State with oak clusters to address what might ultimately be a mild to moderate flu epidemic?
LB100:
Because the predictions were extremely ominous.
Because the news from China and Italy was horrendous.
Because most of the Western world was reacting in the same way.
There was a need to act on insufficient information, because the possible repercussions of not acting were enormous. The repercussions of acting were also enormous, but different.
neo:
Also because this is not 1920 and we don’t have anyone like Calvin Coolidge. We have to live and act in the here and now.
LB100,
It’s an ‘ECONOMIC STIMULUS’ package. And not a ‘only spend enough money to fight Covid-19’ package.
The point is to try to ensure the US economy only has a sharp, hopefully short, recession and not a years long depression.
Making 1,000,000 ventilators, 100 million medical gowns and 1 Billion breathing masks probably wouldn’t cost more than $10 Billion, if even that.
Not nearly enough to replace all the ‘lost’ income.
So of course it is a huge Pork Barrel. And, hopefully, it will actually work.
Tuvea,
I’m aware that it’s supposed to provide an “economic stimulus,” but I also know that a virtually identical “stimulus” program tried during the last meltdown was far worse than useless. The U.S. (and the world) has used monetary and fiscal stimuli (near zero interest rates/deficits) to no positive effect for fifty years, and our aggregate debt may now exceed our assets. The entire world is facing a gigantic financial crisis once again. Spending several trillion more will not help our nearly bankrupt position. I just hope this storm is no worse than 2008.
Has anybody but LeeAlso noticed that President Trump and the entire Republican caucus (minus Massie and Rand Paul) have gone into deepest Deep State with oak clusters to address what might ultimately be a mild to moderate flu epidemic?
yes… but what else could they do given the force of the wave and the desire to surf over be swamped? there were many other plays one may desire to play, or wish they could act upon, but there wasnt many that would work to outcome, and opposition certainly was not one
thats the whole point in chess and games of maneuver, to set things up in such a way that there is not much choice as to how to play. and sometimes that is just how it goes, and the game goes on because its not one game, its a series of games.
Sen. Cruz explained this about the best way possible. The government ordered these businesses closed which directly led to the massive job losses. This was not a case of mismanagement or poor choices it was truly through no fault of there own so this response was about the only choice the govt had. A huge amount of these businesses will not return even after this but this at least gives some of them a chance.
A week ago, President Trump was concerned about the “cure being worse than the disease” (echoing WSJ’s astute Holman Jenkins), and properly skeptical about what our omniscient experts were promoting, such as the sketchy statistical models promoted by the director of (China dominated) WHO and the furiously backtracking Neil Ferguson of two-million-U.S.-deaths fame. Nancy Pelosi was making a fool of herself. I thought Trump was making good moves and had lots of leverage.
Then, something happened. Pelosi et al conflated virus issues with the financial meltdown. Republicans buckled, and, as Massie points out, the resulting bill will come at a cost of $6 trillion, not a paltry $2 trillion (including Fed QE and related Treasury programs). Our elites are now wondering whether the government is spending enough!!!! (WSJ, A2). Barney Frank concludes “what has to be done is pumping out lots of money.”
It was Trump’s job to hold the line and show some Churchill. Instead, he listened to Jared, Ivanka, and Mnuchin. Very sad and disappointing.
Pork… Pork… Americans gonna get fat on pork. And then…. the economy booms and goes back up.
Don’t worry about your fiat worthless currency, America. Trum is going to get rid of all that stuff. That is why they don’t care about the stimulus numbers. Because the Federal Reserve has to go bye bye first.
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As expected, this enormous bill, which, of course, no-one in Congress has read in its entirety, includes significant amounts of extraneous material, aka pork, despite the successful efforts of Republicans to strip away the most egregious examples of wasteful spending(which may still be coming in Pelosi’s next package). Nonetheless, more money is allocated to PBS (hardly fair and balanced politically) and to NPR, some of the affiliates of which have threatened not to cover the president’s Corona-conferences.
Good news!
Northeastern Illinois shopping report. For the most part, except in pasta, dairy, and dry cereals, shelves were backed to fully stocked. Somes BRANDS of milk related dairy products were entirely missing. Plenty of other brands from which to choose.
Shoppers were all polite … but distant. VBG
To to help local restaurants we’re ordering out most nights and giving the delivery guys big tips.
Stay healthy everyone and no fighting!
Most people are calling it a stimulus bill, but I do think “emergency aid” or “emergency recovery” bill is more accurate.
Not a good bill but better than most bills coming from Congress.
There has been reporting on the right about the excesses of the left in the bill. I wonder what the rep put in the bill.
Having said that I don’t think Trump had any choice on signing it. The press and Dems are bad enough on a good day but if he hadn’t (or will) signed it then we would have Schiff calling for another impeachment.
Not a stimulus bill, nor an emergency relief bill, it’s just the swamp creatures making it rain on their pet projects.
Has anybody but LeeAlso noticed that President Trump and the entire Republican caucus (minus Massie and Rand Paul) have gone into deepest Deep State with oak clusters to address what might ultimately be a mild to moderate flu epidemic?
LB100:
Because the predictions were extremely ominous.
Because the news from China and Italy was horrendous.
Because most of the Western world was reacting in the same way.
There was a need to act on insufficient information, because the possible repercussions of not acting were enormous. The repercussions of acting were also enormous, but different.
neo:
Also because this is not 1920 and we don’t have anyone like Calvin Coolidge. We have to live and act in the here and now.
LB100,
It’s an ‘ECONOMIC STIMULUS’ package. And not a ‘only spend enough money to fight Covid-19’ package.
The point is to try to ensure the US economy only has a sharp, hopefully short, recession and not a years long depression.
Making 1,000,000 ventilators, 100 million medical gowns and 1 Billion breathing masks probably wouldn’t cost more than $10 Billion, if even that.
Not nearly enough to replace all the ‘lost’ income.
So of course it is a huge Pork Barrel. And, hopefully, it will actually work.
Tuvea,
I’m aware that it’s supposed to provide an “economic stimulus,” but I also know that a virtually identical “stimulus” program tried during the last meltdown was far worse than useless. The U.S. (and the world) has used monetary and fiscal stimuli (near zero interest rates/deficits) to no positive effect for fifty years, and our aggregate debt may now exceed our assets. The entire world is facing a gigantic financial crisis once again. Spending several trillion more will not help our nearly bankrupt position. I just hope this storm is no worse than 2008.
yes… but what else could they do given the force of the wave and the desire to surf over be swamped? there were many other plays one may desire to play, or wish they could act upon, but there wasnt many that would work to outcome, and opposition certainly was not one
thats the whole point in chess and games of maneuver, to set things up in such a way that there is not much choice as to how to play. and sometimes that is just how it goes, and the game goes on because its not one game, its a series of games.
Sen. Cruz explained this about the best way possible. The government ordered these businesses closed which directly led to the massive job losses. This was not a case of mismanagement or poor choices it was truly through no fault of there own so this response was about the only choice the govt had. A huge amount of these businesses will not return even after this but this at least gives some of them a chance.
A week ago, President Trump was concerned about the “cure being worse than the disease” (echoing WSJ’s astute Holman Jenkins), and properly skeptical about what our omniscient experts were promoting, such as the sketchy statistical models promoted by the director of (China dominated) WHO and the furiously backtracking Neil Ferguson of two-million-U.S.-deaths fame. Nancy Pelosi was making a fool of herself. I thought Trump was making good moves and had lots of leverage.
Then, something happened. Pelosi et al conflated virus issues with the financial meltdown. Republicans buckled, and, as Massie points out, the resulting bill will come at a cost of $6 trillion, not a paltry $2 trillion (including Fed QE and related Treasury programs). Our elites are now wondering whether the government is spending enough!!!! (WSJ, A2). Barney Frank concludes “what has to be done is pumping out lots of money.”
It was Trump’s job to hold the line and show some Churchill. Instead, he listened to Jared, Ivanka, and Mnuchin. Very sad and disappointing.
Pork… Pork… Americans gonna get fat on pork. And then…. the economy booms and goes back up.
Don’t worry about your fiat worthless currency, America. Trum is going to get rid of all that stuff. That is why they don’t care about the stimulus numbers. Because the Federal Reserve has to go bye bye first.